Portrait from Life

This is one of several sketches I did a couple of weeks ago over pizza with one of my best friends, Michelle. The funny thing about drawing people is that some are easy to draw, and some are hard. I suppose it must have to do with their features--but I've never identified any one feature that makes one person harder to draw than another. Michelle has always been easy for me to draw, ever since the first day I drew her in art class eight years ago. 

Dusting Off the Ol' Graphite Pencils

My lovely parents bought me a full spread of solid graphite drawing pencils for Christmas and I finally packed them up and took them with me on an excursion. I've been neglecting my sketching lately--largely, I think, because I've been struggling to find a new place to do it. I used to sketch all the time in college classes, and take breaks at coffee houses for more sketching. Outside college, and in the working world, where do I go to draw?

I spent last Saturday afternoon at a brewery, sipping a beer and drawing anyone in my line of sight.

A cyclist who came in to cool down:

I'm planning on making this a regular thing--either drawing at a brewery, or a coffee house, or a park. The long, long hiatus I had from drawing people from life caused me to almost forget how much I enjoy it.